South Park: Season Ten is the best bunch in years
Michael Curran
Issue date: 11/9/07 Section: Arts & Entertainment
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South Park revolves around the crude, animated denizens of the little mountain town of South Park, Colorado. Now the tenth season is on DVD, and it offers some the best episodes that the series has ever created.
The main characters are four kids at South Park elementary: Cartman, the racist; Stan, the protagonist; Kyle, the idealist, and Kenny, the muffled.
Through abrasive and low brow humor this show has consistently been relevant and shocking amongst the youth of America, tackling topics of religion, abortion, racism, and pretty much anything someone can get upset over, even Scientology.
The season begins with "The Return of Chef" where the Scientology debate of last season is repeated due to Isaac Hayes, who voiced Chef and left the show due to the "Trapped in the Closet" episode that ridiculed Scientology in season nine.
Being the only voice on the show not provided by either Matt or Trey, they decided to first humiliate Chef, by turning him into a child molester, and then killing him in the goriest fashion; falling down a jagged cliff, being shot at, and then bitten in half by a bear and mountain lion. Needless to say this was one of the most popular episodes of the season.
However, the great episodes do not end with the premiere. Cartoon Warsis another eaxmple, a two part episode that finally drew the battle lines between Family Guy and South Park. Then there is "Miss Teacher Bangs Boy" which is where the comely teacher of Ike's class gets involved in a love affair with him. Did I fail to mention that Ike is in kindergarten? The highlight of the episode is when Cartman is a hall monitor dressed like Dog, the bounty hunter, and was having Beth bear-mace people.
Another example is the two part "Go God Go" episode, where the debate of Atheism is superceded by Cartman fighting otters on ostriches in the future, so he could get the Nintendo Wii. That idea alone is genius enough to merit that as a classic episode. However, it is the "Make Love Not Warcraft" episode that is the most remembered.
This episode transformed World of Warcraft from a popular game, into a huge pop culture reference, to the point that truck commercials are using the World of Warcraft engine to create commercials. This episode is still being watched regularly on Youtube, proving how popular both franchises are, and how when combined they form something even more amazing.
In terms of features of the DVD, well, suffice it to say they are slim at best. For one, nothing is on the last disc at all. In fact the only features are commentaries that cut off five minutes in to each episode; basically they're an introductions by Matt and Trey.
Thus, for a great collection of episodes, that will be as memorable as "Trapped in the Closet" and "Casa Bonita", and the meager collection of special features, I would say that South Park is a definite rent, but not a buy. If the DVD offered more than just the episodes I would have given it a perfect score;since it doesn't it gets a 4/5.
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